The physical examination will probably include neurological examination. Diagnostic tests will be determined by the results of the physical examination workup and observation of the gait abnormalities.

Considerations

The pattern of how a person walks is called their gait. Many different types of walking abnormalities are produced unconsciously. Most, but not all, are due to some physical condition.

Some walking abnormalities are so characteristic that they have been given descriptive names:

Propulsive gait -- a stooped, rigid posture, with the head and neck bent forward

Scissors gait -- legs flexed slightly at the hips and knees, giving the appearance of crouching, with the knees and thighs hitting or crossing in a scissors-like movement

Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; and Daniel B. Hoch, PhD, MD, Assistant Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

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